Leather-boarding machine



Aug. 28, 19123.

D. E. HARDING LEATHER BOARDING MACHINE Filed April 29. 1922 AMMKN m,

75 v ma? Patented ug. 2S, i923.

UNITED' sArs "Lamai 'DANA E. HARDING, 4OF DANVERS,VTMASSACVI-IUSETTS.vr`r

LEATHER-BOARDINGMACHINE. v

; Applcationled April 29, 1922. Serial No. 557,248.

To all 'whom t may] conce/m:

Be it known that I, DANA E. HAiiniNG, a

citizen ofv the United States, residing at4 Danvers, lin thercountyofEssex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Leather-Boarding Ma'- chines, of which the following isaspecification.

4fold a sharp one.

The present invention relates to a machine for performing the operationon skins and pieces of leather, known asl boarding, by which finewrinkles are formed throughout the surface of the grain side of theleather. I-Ieretofore, this operation has generally been performed 'byhand, the workman folding the leather piece and laying it in the foldedcondition onV a table, and then placing a board on the upper side ofthefolded piece and rubbing the board acrossv the fold, whereby the upperside of the piece is caused to slide over the lower part and theposition of the fold is progressively shiftedfrom its loriginal locationout to the edge of the piece.

The workman meanwhile constantly maintains pressure on theV board, whichmakes the When one half. ofthe piece has been treated in this fashion,Yitis again folded at the same place and laid on `the table in areversedposition, with that side uppermost which previously wasunderneath, and the saine operation is repeated. The result is known inthe trade, as leather which has been boarded one way. 'For somepurposes, it is required that the leather be boarded two ways, which`means that after having been treated as thus described, it is folded ona line at right angles to thefirst lfold, and the saineoperations arecarried out kagain on the newl fold..

:The hand operation isfatiguing and slow,

landthe output of each operator yis necessarily limited. It is an`unusuallyable operator who can produce as many as twenty- V.live dozensides of upper leather boarded one way during a single working day. Ithas been Vsuggested that a greaterand more rapid output of boardedleather for each operator employed, `could beobtaine'd ifysuitable'machines for. performing ,the boarding. opera:- tion wereavailable; 2 and although several designs formachines o f rthis sort,haverbeeii made, the result has not yet been achievedV of' furnishingto'the trade a practical machine capable of producing satisfactoryworkand.being'atthesame time free from complication and inexpensive vtobuild.l y

My obj ectin making the present invention has been to devise a machinewhich is automatic in operation, except .for the insertion and removalof the leather being operated on, whichis able to produce workof as goodquality as, or better than, thatcf the hand method, which shall be morerapid in its action than the hand method, and'at the same time is simplein character and relatively inexpensive to build andniaintain. Ainachine meeting the conditions and serving the objects above set forth,is described in the following specifieationand illustrated in thedrawings referred to therein; yand it is in such a machine andequivalent Vstructures `coming withiinthe scope of the appended claims,that my present invention resides. In the drawings, Figure l is a sideelevaftion 'of the i particular machine above referred to. K ,Y n

Figure 2 is a plan View of the machine.

' Figure 3 is a cross-section on line y,3V-f3 of Y 'Figure l, showinginelevation the parts at .the left of Said line. A K t Figure Llis adetail showing inside elevation the cam by wliich'the boardis con;trolled. i v V .w Like reference characters designate .the same partswherever they occur'i in the figures. Y s t v In thismachine Ythenumeral l represents a table on which the folded skin and other piecesof' leather are laidY when beingopl* erated o n, Thepiecesfsoplaced,lare acted upon by` a tool 2 which is similar toftliehandimplement known in the art as a boardf tion. lIt Vis essentially -aplate having a flat under-surface ofV a length and width sufli# cientfor the purpose yiew,'and it maybe 'i and will be called a Iboard in.this speciica-` made of any suitable material.. In practice,

I have made it offboaifds fitted. together edgeV Y. yto edge, andsecured Aby V'cleatslor battens.,V This boardis connected to an arm 3,which is l Pvoted on a. pin t, secured'ina carriageor l slide* 5 which'is adaptedtotravel in -oron guideways .6. AArmf-.maybe inadefof anyv 1Vmaterial secured in"any,,suitableY Wayfto the board. In [themachineahere shown, itis a woodeny beai'nsecured toV the :board by anin# termediateblock 7. Y There are twofguide- .ways l6arrangedvparallelr, to each other at V"in this specieation.

"and brace such plates, holding them at a given distance apart. They maybe formed with "shoulders -a'tL the inner sides yot the plates, and withnuts or other fastening means at the outer sides.

The pivot'Qis the vwrist pin-tor a connecting rod 11 which'is pivoted toa. crank pin'12 on a Afly wheel 13 mounted on a shai't 14C, which isdriven by a belt pulley or other suitable means of well understoodcharacter, and 'therefore not here shown in detail. Onthe 'end ot theconnecting;` rod, and preferably secured` to the upper side of the boXon said :rod which embraces the wrist Ioin 9,' is a cam 15,-which'actsfto control the board in a Inanlner which I will -nowdescribe.

The armofbeam 3 carrying' he board, has anfextension arm '16, to whichis secured by means of a bracket -or stirrup 17 a trundle roll 18arrangedto bea-r on thewsurtace et cam 15. Acrossthe opposite side ofarm 16 is placed a bar 19, the ends of which overhang,` the sideplates-of the carriage 5. Link 'r0ds'20 pass through the ends of bar '19and are connected'by-pivots 21 to the side plates.

of the carriage.r Betweenthe barili) andabut- 'ments 2201i Vtheupperends of the bars 20', are

springs 23 `which act on the arm 16 with a tendency to raise the boardand to hold 'the trundleroll in contact with 'the cam 15. The

'adjustments 22 'are adjustable on 'the link rods, so Vas to vary andregulate the pressure with which the springs thus act; and

VJthe stirrup and strap'l carrying the trundle vroll is adjustable 'upand down on the arm 16, so as'to'control 'the position ofthe board with`relerence tothe cam. For thepurpose of thisY adjustment, the strap orholder 17 is held by clamp screws 241, which pass through elongatedholes and enter the 'arm '16,7 thus permitting' ailimited up and Ldownadj'ustmentof the strap'and'servingto clamp c iti in any adjustment.

V'Referring'now particularly to the'cam 15, f the sameh'as 'two distinctparts, 25 and 26 'its-surface, the''orm'erl being an `incline sYVhaving'la raising,` andjlowering `function,

-and vthe kother being a l.-dwell. rlhe relations and Vfurthercharacteristics of these parts can Ybest be explained in connection withthe de- -sc'ription of :operation occurring jiurther =on V"For the rest,,the mechanical construction :ofthe "machine comprises a frame or baseVthrough. the cani and roll.A

structure ot' anyrsuitable character to support the table 1, a heightAconvenient for the -use of the operatorin placingand removing -thefworkpieces', and.r to support the guideways 6 and the shaft 14 at the properheights and in the proper locations, to move the board across tl e tablewhenracting on the workand to enable the board to be raised and loweredby the action ot the cam 15.

rlhe operationot the machine Vis thus Assuming` that the liy wheel turnsin theV ldirection of the arrowbeside it `in Figure 1, then Vthe camdwell 26 'is so fformed that throughout the extent of the rearwardmovement ot the carriage and'boardftliat from left to right in'Figure 1oi' the drawing), it causes no` displacement Vof the board, but Aholdsthe board continuously kin the position where the latter will exertpressure upon' thework. llllien'rthecrank isin the neighborhood ot' therear Jdead point (whether exactly` at this point, or slightly before orafter it, is immaterial) the cam incline 25 begins to pass over thetrundle roll` 18, and

the lsurfaceV otl this incline recedes when Y li'ft the board,relieving' the` pressure 'of the` 'latter on the work, and enabling,-the operator to remove `the. work 'piece and re-io'ld and replace' 1tupon 'the table, or to substitute a new piece. The cam, surface Y25 isso "shaped that the board dis held at a suiiicient yheight above thetable for the remo-val and Areplacement of the work throughoutt-lieitorf ward travel, 'or a largeenough proportion of that travel 'tofpermit the ynecessary Yproachin',c` lthe forward dead point, :the camsurface 25, which with revers'al'ofith'e wrist ypin swing oftheconnecting` rod ybecomes a rlsing'surfaca causes the board to belowered andciinally to press on the work at-or about VYthecommencementvofthe rearward stroke. *It will be noted that the pressureor" the board 'on the Vwork l,is applied positively rlhis pressure'maybe varied, according to the thickness and nature of the leather, bythe 'adjustment previously described of the roll holderl. 'This mode oi3'applying-the Y"pressurefis an important vfeature of the invention,ior-it 'enables a very' accurately gradedpressure,

whichcan'rbemade 'practically as severe 'as desired, to be exertedf'onthe folded Work `piece "during the boarding action Thus a 'greateripres'surefm'ay be Avexerted on the. work It follows from thesecharacteristics that 'the quality of the Iwork must be as goed as than'can be applied l:by j theV muscular s'trengthfof the operatonthe old'isAcom-- pressed sharply, and the grain produced.. by `the boarding mad-eas inerand even as :may be desired.' Y I that of hand operation and maybe better, Vthat it is uniform in quality, because not .subject to theAvariation duey to the fatigue It will be apparent that various changesAin structure and arrangement of the parts,

and substitution of equivalentdevices, Vmay be made in the machinewithout departing from lthe -spirit of the invention or exceeding thescope of the claims; Y

What I-claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A boarding machine comprising a table on which folded work pieces maybe placed, av board overlying said table and being adapted to cooperatewith said table in performing the operation of boarding leather, acarriage to which said board is connected, and means for driving saidcarriage back and forth in a path approximately parallel to the plane ofthe table, said driving means having provisions for causing the board tobe held above the table during its travel in one direction and to beheld down upon the work during its travel in the opposite direction.

2. A boarding machine comprising a` table, having a flat supportingsurface on which folded work pieces may be laid, a board having a flatunder-surface adapted to bear on the work pieces so placed and beingadapted to cooperate with said table in performing the operation o-fboarding leather, a carriage guided to move in a path parallel to theplane of the table and'to which said board is pivoted so as to overhangthe table, a driving mechanism for the tab-le comprising a crank andconnecting rod having a wrist connection with the carriage, whereby theboard is moved back and forth, said connecting rod and the board" havingcomplemental abutments arranged to raise the board during the travel ofthe carriage in one direction, and to permit the board to occupy aloweredvposition in engagement with the work in such travel in theopposite v direction.

3. A boarding machinecomprising atable, a board overhanging said tableand being adapted to cooperate with said table in per-` forming theoperation of boarding leather,

a carriage arranged to travel approximately parallel to the surface ofthe table and to and board :having compleinontal-means vactuated by thechanging angularityf ofthe rod to raise the board when the crank is nearone dead point, andto lower itV when thecrank is near the opposite deadpoint. e

4. A, Vboarding machine comprising a table, a carriage,reciprocabletoward the end of the table, a board pivotedto the carriagein .position to .overhang the table and being adapted to cooperate lwithsaidY table `in performing theopera-.tion of boarding leather,complementalmeans acting between saidfcarriage and boardl tending toraise the boa-rd, a connectingzrod having a wrist connection with thecarriage, a crank joined tosaid connecting rod, anda cam carried. byithe connecting rod and acting upon an abutment associated with theboard, said cam having a surface arranged to exert lpressure on theabutment holding the board down during the travel of the carriage in onefdirection, and having a raising and lowering surface arranged to permitthe board; to be raised and so held while the carriage Itravels in theopposite direction.

5. A leatherl boarding inachinecomprising a table adapted to receivefolded pieces of leather, a board adapted to cooperate with said tablein performing the operation of boarding leather, a carriage movable backand fourth parallel to the surface of said table and to which said boardis pivoted, a lever arm associated with the board, a spring actingbetween said arm and the carriage tending to raise the Vboard from thetable, a cam abutment mounted on said arm and ,being vadjustable thereoninapproXimately the directions in which said the travel of the carriagein the opposite direction, and is so formed that during part of suchopposite travel, it permits rise ofthe board by the action of saidspring, and during the last part of such travel it causes theI board tobe lowered., 'l

6. A leather boarding machine comprising a tablel 'adapted yto support afolded skin, a board complemental to the table having an` area. andsurface adapting it, to performin association withsaid. table theopera-tion of boarding such afskin, a carriage iio movablek back and'forth parallel to the Y Vplane of said table and being 'displacedhorizontally7 therefrom,'an varm pivoted to the carriage and to whichsaid board is secured7 a. drivingcrank, a. connecting Yrod joinedV tosaid crank and carriage, a e'am mounted on said connecting rod so as torook therewitlnand a cam abutment rigidly connected with said arm and.engaged with the earn, said @am and abutment-'being arranged'andoonstruoted to hold-the board toward theA table with a positive'action during thertravel of the earriagei-n one direction,V and torelease @the board7 permitting its separation from the table, during`the travel olf the carriage-'in the opposite direc-tion.

17. 'A leather boarding machine oompreing a table adapted to support a'Jfolded skin,

a board complementari to the table havingan area andr surfaceadaptingiit to perform in association with said table the operation ofboarding` such a skin, a carriage movable vback and forth parallel tothe plane of said table and being displaced horizontally therefrom, anarm pivoted'to the carriage and to which 'said boardiesecured,l adriving crank, a connecting rod joined vto sald'erankra-nd carriage, aVcam mounted on said eonneotng'rod so as tol-ook there-k force tending`to move the abutment `toward Y the cam and at thelsame time to separatethe board from the table, the cam being construoted with a. rise whichacte onf the abutment` andpositivelypres'ses the board toward the tableduring the travel of the oar-V riage in one direetion and with arelieved surface which -comes opposite the abutment and permits saidspring to displace the board from the table during thettravel of thecarriage in the opposite dreeten.

In testimony whereof I have aiixed my i signature.

Darmk E. HARDrNe.

